Parties
by StormWolf10
Summary: In which Donna attends Nerys' Sweet Sixteen in a questionable outfit, and she meets a potential new friend...


**A/N: Second in the Noble 'Verse, but doesn't necessarily have to be read after 'First Kiss'.**

Donna Noble wasn't a fan of parties. Well, she enjoyed them, when she was there, but she detested the whole 'trying to find the right outfit' thing, and the amount of work the other girls at school put into their clothes. It was a party, not a fashion parade, and if Donna had her way, a party would consist of cake, balloons, some good music and a lot of laughter. She stood by that, even despite being fifteen going on sixteen; she just didn't see why she had to fork out for a new outfit every time her friends had a birthday- what was wrong with them just getting together and enjoying themselves? But no, this was Nerys' party, and she could just tell that it would be full of Nerys' skinny friends showing off their newly-bought dresses and shoes, and chatting about their upcoming gymnastics competition. Donna didn't like gymnastics. She'd done it for a bit when she was younger, but it was at the age of nine when she'd realised she just wasn't as flexible as Nerys or her little perfect friends that had caused the end of her gymnastics career.

"So are you coming or not?"

Donna blinked, and looked from the invite in her hand, to an irate Nerys stood in front of her, then back again.

"Oh," was Donna's response. "I guess so."

"Good," Nerys responded, although her arms were still folded resolutely across her chest.

"What do I have to wear?" Donna asked, resigned. Ever since they'd hit their teens, Nerys' parties had always been an excuse for the girls to dress up in dresses and high heels and makeup, and it always made Donna feel out of place. She loved doing all the dressing up and stuff, but nine times out of ten, her Mum insisted on going shopping with her to buy the dress, and that just resulted in an argument or five.

"Oh, nothing fancy," Nerys dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Not this time. It's more… informal."

"You sure?" Donna asked, crinkling her nose.

In the eleven years she'd known her, Donna had never heard of Nerys having an informal birthday party. Even as children her parties would consist of fairy castles and three-tier cakes, and Nerys would have a new poufy dress and a tiara. At the age of sixteen, Donna couldn't see Nerys giving all that up.

"Of course," Nerys shrugged, a small- and, frankly worrying- smile gracing her lips. "I wouldn't lie to you. We've been friends years."

And so a sceptical Donna nodded and grabbed her school bag, ready to walk home.

**~StormWolf10~**

The first thought that entered Donna's mind when she walked into Nerys' birthday party two weeks later was that she'd been conned. The second thing that entered Donna's mind was that Nerys Martin was a liar. The third thing that entered Donna's mind was that she looked like an idiot. She'd donned a pair of dark trousers and a purple jumper, along with a new pair of boots Gramps had treated her to. It was by no means a scruffy outfit, and yet she felt ridiculously under-dressed. Nerys' parents had hired Chiswick Community Hall, a slightly dingy building that had been decorated in a riot of pink frills for Nerys' sixteenth birthday. The handful of boys that had been invited- Donna mentally noted that it seemed to be all of the school football team, including one Alec Brody- were dressed in either dark jeans or black trousers and plain button-down shirts, with either suit jackets or waistcoats. The girls were- as Donna has suspected- dressed up to the nines, new dresses and high heels and makeup and softly curled hair. Everyone was dressed smartly except for Donna.

"Donna!"

Donna groaned as Nerys weaved her way through the crowd, a slinky black dress on her that just about hit her knees.

"Hi, Nerys," Donna responded, a forced smile on her face as she handed Nerys her birthday card.

Nerys looked Donna up and down, cocked an eyebrow and took the card.

"You came wearing _that_?" she asked in distaste.

Donna folded her arms over her chest self-consciously.

"You said it was informal."

"Yeah," Nerys snorted, "but not _that_ informal!"

And as Nerys slipped back through the crowd, a group of her gymnast friends tottering precariously behind her in their impossibly high heels, Donna groaned. This couldn't get any worse. Remembering what her Dad and Gramps had taught her almost two years beforehand, Donna spied a plant pot in one corner of the room and hurried towards it. She didn't have anyone to talk to, but she could at least try and look like something important was happening. Once she'd reached the pot plant, she pulled her purse out of the small bag her Mum had leant her. She pulled it open and counted her change. Donna knew from experience that the only phone in the building was a payphone, and she refused to ask Nerys' parents for money to call her Mum and Dad. She didn't want to stay at the party, of course she didn't, not when she just knew people were laughing and whispering about her. The worst thing was, the people at the party didn't even bother to do so behind her back. Oh, no. They did it in plain view, sniggering and talking and pointing at her. Donna felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment, quickly warming to match her hair. So she averted her gaze back to her purse, and quickly counted the few coins at the bottom. There wasn't enough. A phone call would cost 30p, she had twenty-seven pence in total. She could walk home, but it was November, and it was cold and dark. Donna swallowed, trying to ignore the prickling of tears in the corner of her eyes. She wouldn't cry. She was Donna Noble, she didn't cry, she didn't let Nerys see that she'd gotten to her. She would stay hidden by the plant pot until she'd calmed down, and then she would head over to Nerys, thank her for inviting her, and walk out with her head held high. She straightened at that. Yes. That was what she would do. Donna sniffed, dabbed at her eyes with a tissue she'd found in her bag, tossed her hair over her shoulder and made her way across the room, moving with determination towards Nerys.

"Oh, Donna, there you are!" Nerys announced upon seeing Donna.

Donna's cool façade fell away as confusion overtook her anger. Nerys was being… _nice_.

"I was just coming to find you," Nerys continued. "This is Blair MacKenzie, Blair this is Donna."

Donna blinked. In front of her was a tall, athletic sixteen year old boy with black hair and brown eyes.

"Pleased to meet you, Donna," he announced, momentarily stunning Donna with the Scottish accent that left his mouth. He moved forward to shake her hand.

Donna stuttered and nodded, shaking Blair's hand.

"Pleased to meet you too," she managed to get out after a moment.

"Blair likes _books_," Nerys broke in, emphasising the 'books'.

Donna fought the urge to roll her eyes. Nerys had never been big on reading, unless it was about the latest fashion. She hadn't even read Much Ado About Nothing when they'd done it in English; she'd just copied Donna's notes. And then, Donna blinked as Nerys disappeared through the crowd again, leaving her with Blair.

"So," Donna began awkwardly, having no idea what to talk about, "you new?"

"Aye," Blair responded, nodding solemnly. "Just moved down from Edinburgh."

Donna nodded.

"Nice there?" she asked, nose wrinkling slightly.

Blair blinked.

"Cold," he replied. "It's cold. But I suppose it's nice. Not that much different from London. Busy. Everyone in a rush."

The pair fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"What books do you like, then?" Donna asked Blair suddenly.

Blair wrinkled his nose and shrugged.

"A bit of this and that," he responded. "Dickens, Shakespeare, fantasy, science fiction-"

"Science fiction?" Donna interrupted, wrinkling her nose. "You really believe in all that stuff?"

Blair blushed, and Donna immediately felt bad. So it wasn't her cup of tea, it didn't mean it was a horrid thing. Just meant she wasn't interested in it. Quickly realising the conversation was going from awkward to humiliating, Donna frantically back-tracked.

"I mean, it's not bad, but I'm not particularly fond of it myself."

Blair gave her a small smile.

"Not everyone likes it," he admitted. "It's rather specific, you know?"

Donna nodded, not sure how to respond.

"What brought you to Chiswick, then? It's a long way from Edinburgh," Donna asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

"My Father got moved to a new department at his firm, the position was here in London," Blair explained. "He's a scientific advisor for a government facility, UNIT."

Donna nodded again, trying not to let on that she had no idea what UNIT was.

"And you know Nerys how exactly?" Donna asked. "Haven't seen you around, and I'm sure I'd remember you."

Again, Blair blushed, and he stammered out a reply.

"Just started," he replied, still blushing. "Only been there a few days. Definitely the same school as you, I'm in French with Nerys."

"Ah," Donna realised. "The one lesson I escape from her!"

Blair gave her a wry smile and continued his explanation.

"Yeah, well, it seems I wasn't so lucky. I wasn't gonna come, but I joined the football team as well, and they were all coming, so…"

"So you felt you had to," Donna concluded sympathetically. "Don't worry, something similar happened to me." Donna grimaced, glancing down at the clothes she wore. "And I was told that it was informal."

"You look lovely," Blair responded adamantly, smiling.

It was Donna's turn to blush then, but the moment was lost as the music was cranked up even louder, and Donna rolled her eyes.

"How about we get out of here?" Blair yelled over the top of the noise.

Donna nodded, and the two of them weaved through the crowds to bid Nerys goodbye before leaving the community hall. It was starting to rain, and Donna grimaced.

"How about I walk you home?" Blair suggested, and Donna nodded mutely, vaguely aware she was staring at his mouth.

They began making their way along the road, Donna doing most of the leading.

"Would you object to… Well, meeting up sometime?" Blair asked, wide-eyed.

Donna stopped, not caring of the persistent November rain, and stared at the boy.

"Are you asking me on a date?" she asked, suddenly having horrid flashbacks to Arnold Elmer in the school library. She'd dumped the poor guy just after the summer holidays, when she'd had the horrible realisation that she simply couldn't date a guy who took her to libraries and discussed trigonometry.

"I… Uh, if you want," Blair responded awkwardly.

Donna thought for a few moments.

"Yeah, go on then," she replied after a few moments, a smile tugging at her lips.

Blair grinned. After that, they continued walking in a companionable silence, which was only broken a few times by Donna pointing out decent cafes, or shops Blair might like. Soon, they were at Donna's house, and Blair bade her an awkward goodbye on the doorstep.

"I'll, uh, see you at school, yeah?" he asked.

Donna nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, see you at school."

With one final wave, Blair disappeared down the dark street, leaving Donna grinning like a loon on her doorstep, getting wetter and wetter from the rain. It had been a good night, Donna concluded happily. Maybe parties weren't so bad after all.


End file.
